Over the past few years infographics have become increasingly important to a website design company and a good online marketing campaign. Simply put, they are one of the best ways to spread factual-based content virally. One of the reasons for this goes back to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. Studies show that most people learn visually, and so when information is represented pictorially, it becomes easier to capture an audience and teach them relevant facts. Add in relevant links to a well-designed infographic and, especially if lots of people click and share it.

Creating an Awesome Infographic

The first thing you’ll need in order to create a successful infographic is an awesome website designer, a copywriter and a research analyst. It is important to balance each aspect of your infographic so that your audience finds it easy to view, understand, and maybe most importantly, share. If one element is too heavy, it overshadows the others and dominates the entire thing. An infographic with too much copy won’t grab attention; one with too many stats won’t have a story or any real insight; and one that’s too visual won’t be shareable.

3 Important Infographic Elements

Statistics: Every infographic should have at least one statistic. Stats are what make infographics informational, otherwise they become op-graphics, which – while fun – are no different than well designed blog posts made to exist outside the context of a blog.

Catchy Headline: The best infographics have a great headline with relevant keywords, which fit into a theme, as well as some kind of point about the facts they are spreading an insight into what they are defining through their stats and well-written copy.

Appealing Designs: Illustrative designs are increasingly popular in supporting the narrative structure of a well-crafted infographic. Without visually appealing and well-constructed illustrations, you can easily lose your audience in the jumble of pictures and text.

Overall, your infographic should have an easy flow of information and pictures that will teach your audience something. Remember, it’s important to analyze your infographic for how easy it is to view, understand and share. If you can do so, then your audience will be able to also! Below is one that we created at our website design company. Tell us in the comments what you think!

So there you have it! These are the main important points to know when creating infographics.

Are you interested in having your corporate website redesigned in 2014? Is this something you are beginning to plan for right now? If you answered yes to these questions, you know the importance of finding the right company for the job. Along with this, you should have some basic ideas of what you are looking to accomplish. When it comes to website design, if you can dream it up it can likely be done. That being said, you have to make important decisions based on your industry, target market, design preferences, and of course, budget. If you are having a difficult time deciding how to move forward, here are five web design infographics that can point you in the right direction:

1. Color Theory. Are you worried about which colors you should be using on your new website? This infographic can go a long way in helping you make the right decision. After all, color is very important in attracting new visitors and making them to spend some time on your website.

2. How do colors affect purchases? The colors you choose for your website could go a long way in affecting whether or not visitors make a purchase. This infographic can help you see which colors you should and should not be using. Have you ever thought about those websites that you go back to in order to purchase something because you feel cozy and comfortable?

3. Do you need a new logo? When redesigning your website, you may realize that you need a new logo as well. If this is the case, now is the time for doing so. There is no point in redesigning your website now, just to find that you need to do the same with your logo shortly thereafter. You might as well kill two birds with one stone.

4. How to choose a typeface. Choosing a typeface is something many people overlook, but is a very important detail when it comes to redesigning your website. There are hundreds of options, so make sure you consider each one.

5. Web design trends for 2013. Although the year has almost come to an end, some of these trends are sure to spill over into the new year. Which ones are you comfortable implementing in your website design? Before you get started with the redesign of your company’s website, check out these five web design infographics.

We all prefer graphical representations to long textual facts and figures. The reason being that they are more interesting and give a consolidated glimpse of the data which can be compared easily. Even statistics have proven that 40% of the audience respond better to visual representations in comparison to text based information. This may be attributed to the fact that the human brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Infographics are being shared over social media and are getting good responses from the users. While many may believe that the use of infographics is fairly new, it is safe to say that similar representations have been in existence since ages. However the problem with infographics is that the more they are used, the more chances exist for them to become so common that they may lose popularity with the masses and eventually resulting in weakened marketing efforts. The only way to ensure effective use of infographics is to constantly innovate and understand the finer nuances associated with visual representation of complex or lengthy data.

The Good:

The most alluring aspect of infographics is the visual appeal and simplicity of presentation. While becoming overly creative may seem to be a good strategic approach, most users prefer simple presentations that have clarity and can easily be understood for comparison.

Considering the benefits of infographics in online marketing, it aids the SEO functions by earning incoming links in accordance with subsequent increase in traction.

Being a visual representation, the inclusion of the brand’s logo would go a long way in promoting and sustaining market position for the business. However this requires proper placement of the logo within the acceptable confines of premium positioning in the infographic.

Another benefit pertains to the portrayal of one’s expertise which is achieved by making an effective comparison of internal data with data from the applicable industry, thereby providing a comprehensive portrayal of well researched data.

The Bad:

Infographics that are used solely for the purpose of increasing “linkbaits” have often resulted in poorly executed efforts. It is due to such poorly executed content that infographics having immense potential are not given due consideration.

In keeping with the amount of research required and the manner in which it is presented to the customers, infographics may be an expensive undertaking for small businesses. The costs incurred are high only when extremely striking infographics are to be made. Simple representations can be made at lower costs.

It is not uncommon for unrealistic expectations to be kept from infographics wherein the purpose tends to become focused on making the content viral rather than emphasizing on proper content creation with backed up facts and statistics to prove its worth. It is this expectation which at times has been known to cause more harm than good.

While it is feasible to outsource data for statistical representation, its use may not reflect the actual points of concern for the customers. In order to manage this, it is better to conduct research by identifying key points that have direct impact on the business as well as the consumers.

The New Perspective:

Simplicity shall always hold priority for creating impressive infographics. Proof of this may be seen in the infographic created by Dell which utilized a yes / no based flowchart for captivating the interests of programmers who are familiar with this type of representation. This helped the company to connect with its audience and potential customers. Current trends in infographics indicate the those with longer layouts with vertical flow of data would be successful in retaining their effectiveness in communicating the information to the audience. While the best practices for infographics may have possible differing aspects, the need for incorporating innovative methods to captivate audiences has gained paramount significance especially in light of the widespread use of infographics which poses the risk of obsoletion.

The infographic designs that are presented currently mainly comprise of static graphical representation of data that is provided in interesting ways to the audience. However, there is a dire need for improving the presentation methods for achieving the next level of infographics. One such possible approach would be to use Parallax Scrolling which is the key transition for conventional designs to be presented as interactive web pages. The reason behind its potential effectiveness lies in the fact that the images in the foreground move either slowly or independently in comparison to the images in the background. This results in an interactive experience for the user wherein the content needs to be scrolled or moved in order to see further information.

Some of the benefits of using this relatively new approach include enhanced interaction, better user retention, faster captivating rates, and increased sharing of content. This is really crucial in driving more traffic to the intended web pages. Another benefit of using parallax scrolling pertains to the fact that the text can be made to crawl. This facility enables infographics to be positioned at the bottom of the layout and transcribing it accordingly. Additionally, internal links from the content itself may be provided which is practically better than transcribing the same.

From the marketing perspective, parallax scrolling enables infographic to be re-purposed easily. This results in the infographic being submitted to dedicated directories, online document sharing platforms and creation of micro-blogs, There is even the possibility of these infographics being turned into video presentations if the content and its purpose permits it. The question about parallax scrolling becoming the infographic template of the future still remains unanswered but possibilities are constrained only by the limits of one’s creativity.